


Without a Lodestone

by NightsMistress



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-19 07:47:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13119279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightsMistress/pseuds/NightsMistress
Summary: While exploring the Lost Treescape, Celica finds herself lost in its paths, her thoughts, and her memories of how Conrad used to be before they were separated so long ago.





	Without a Lodestone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brella/gifts).



> Hello satellites! I too have many feelings about Celica and so when I saw your letter I had to treat it.
> 
> My thanks to my beta, itsjjoy, for the speedy and helpful beta!

Rigel was harsh, breathtakingly so at times, but Celica was surprised to see that there was beauty there as well. Every child of Zofia had grown up hearing stories about Rigel's terrible lands, a perfect match for the cruelty that nestled within its people. Celica had not believed that Rigelian people had an innate gift for cruelty, but she was surprised to learn that she had believed that the country itself could be ugly. The mires were, of course, fetid with the magic that brought Terrors to life, but that was consistent across all of Valentia. She had not seen Fear Mountain other than a looming peak on the horizon, but did not doubt that it lived up to its name.

The Lost Treescape, however, was eerily beautiful. The mist made everything quiet and still, shrouding the air like a cool gauzy veil. The trees seemed indistinct, the suggestion of strong trunks and fresh leaves or even a mirage. Even time itself seemed elastic here, and she could only tell the passage of the hours by when she felt hungry or tired, or when the Terrors made their presence known.

The forest had been more than enough to swallow the sound of her force's passage, let alone the passage of two lost royal children. It had been a simple, foolish mistake - Celica had gone right when the rest of her party travelled left, and by the time that she had realized it there was no hope of tracking her party's steps. At least Conrad had been with her.

Conrad had dismounted so that he could walk beside her. Ever since her forces had claimed Dolth Keep, Conrad had stayed close to her; a fortunate outcome since they had been separated from their main forces. He was surprisingly quiet for a man wearing armor leading a horse through a mystical maze, and surefooted despite his protestations that he did not know the forest well at all. From what Celica could tell, his directions appeared true and she was hopeful that they would be reunited with her main force soon enough.

His competence gave space to her thoughts, specifically Dolth's offer. The mist seemed to invite contemplation, and Celica found her thoughts turning around and around like the paths they travelled. What was the value of her life, in exchange for protecting the ones she loved? It was a question she wrestled with in silence, and considered herself cowardly for not having a ready answer for it.

It was as she neared the next intersection that she realised that Conrad had stopped. 

She turned back. He had taken his mask off at some point during their lonely walk and he was staring at her as if she represented a precious thing that he had thought long-lost. She swallowed under the emotional weight of that thought; their familial relationship was a precious thing from her childhood as well, happy moments in the misery of King Lima IV's court, and something she too thought long lost. She wished she knew what to say to breach the years of absence and grief.

She managed, only, "Is there something the matter?"

He blinked at her and the moment was gone, much to her relief. "Forgive me, Anthiese," he said, voice rough with disuse. He cleared it awkwardly, and continued. "My thoughts were wandering."

Celica could imagine. He had sounded so distressed in Dolth Keep -- they all had -- when she had considered surrendering herself to Duma's cantors. She was no fool; she knew that if she did choose to sacrifice herself that her friends would mourn her passing. But some things were greater than her life, could only be bought with her life, and she could not promise that she would not choose annihilation to save Zofia.

She said lightly, "Perhaps your thoughts might meet mine, as I find them wandering too."

His eyes went wide and guilt left its mark on his face. "Is something wrong? Please, sister, tell me if there is anything I can do."

"I was just thinking." She smiled briefly. "It's nothing important, I assure you."

The advantage of Conrad no longer wearing his mask was that she could see his expression rather than have to infer it by inflection alone. The worried frown was both like and completely unlike the frown he wore in her memories as a child. The Conrad in her memories was easily startled, prone to tears, and able to be led by stronger personalities. This Conrad still wore his emotions on his sleeve, could still be easily teased, but she thought that there would be things even she could not ask him to do.

It reminded her that truly she knew very little of Conrad's life after the fire. She had been told that he had been escorted to Sage's Hamlet and that is where he learned the way of the lance, but that seemed as woefully inadequate a telling of his life as if she were to summarise hers by saying she had grown up in a priory. How had he become the man he was today: gentle and kind while also being far braver than she remembered?

"I wonder," she said thoughtfully. "Do the residents of Sage's Hamlet have any stories of you as a child."

Conrad looked puzzled and for a moment said nothing. "I - I suppose they would. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think I have a lot of catching up to do."

"You could simply ask me. I wouldn't mind telling you."

"But that wouldn't be the same at all! You wouldn't know what a younger sister needs to know about her brother."

"Like what?"

"The mask for example! I know it was to hide your identity, but was it truly only for that? If I were to ask, would I hear stories of you as a mysterious knight, practicing your dashing rescues of princesses?"

"Did you think it was dashing?" Conrad asked eagerly. "I had practiced coming to your aid ever since I had heard you had survived the fire."

"It was very impressive," Celica agreed. "Though I wonder about how you practice such things. Dare I ask?"

Conrad looked like he was about to answer. Then there was a rustle behind them, and Celica could taste the sharp, ugly tang that meant that Terrors were about. She whirled around and saw them approaching quickly, their movements a terrible mockery of the fluidity and grace they must have had once.

Conrad mounted his horse in one easy movement that was impressive all for how unassuming it was, and put his mask back on. His whole demeanour changed upon putting it on, and as he drew his Blessed Lance he looked like a storybook hero rather than her shy older brother. The sun reflected off his armor, making the white cloth brighter and causing his hair to glow a burnished rose-gold. 

"Ware, Anthiese!" he said sharply, moving between her and the approaching Terrors.

Celica drew her blade from its sheath, the incantation for conjuring fire already on her lips. Truly it was a strange thing having a brother who almost became a completely different person upon wearing a mask. She hoped that the Sage's Hamlet would have the answers she sought, or at the very least the story of how Conrad grew into the person he was now.


End file.
